2016 ELECTION/GOP/JEFF SESSIONS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Justice Department’s inspector general, facing increasing political pressure from Republicans in Congress and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, said on Wednesday [3-28-18] that his office would investigate the surveillance of a former Trump campaign official. The announcement came amid a stream of attacks in recent months from the White House and Republican lawmakers seeking to undermine the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election. The inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, said he would examine whether law enforcement officials complied with the law and departmental policies in seeking permission from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to wiretap the former campaign adviser, Carter Page. Law enforcement officials had long had concerns that Mr. Page, a former investment banker based in Moscow, was acting as a Russian agent. Republicans have seized on details about the court-ordered surveillance of Mr. Page as evidence that the Justice Department abused its authority in the Russia investigation.”
–Nicholas Fandos and Katie Benner, “Justice Dept. Will Be Investigated Over Surveillance of Trump Campaign Official,” The New York Times online, Mar. 29, 2018